New report highlights underfunding of education programs

A new report, Cutting Class: Underfunding the Foundation Budget's Core Education Program, finds that Massachusetts school districts are hiring fewer teachers, providing less professional development,and spending less on materials and technology than the state funding formula considers appropriate for a quality education. The study, released by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center on November 27, finds major gaps between the “foundation budget’’ — the state’s estimate of what each district needs to run its schools — and what school districts are actually spending.

The MTA has long supported legislation calling for an independent analysis to determine how much it costs to meet the current needs of Massachusetts public school students.